Most Australian universities have invested in recent years in learning space developments designed to enhance the student experience and to support more active and collaborative pedagogies. The reality for most students is that their student experience is formulated in teaching spaces (lecture theatres, general purpose teaching spaces, specialised laboratories) which were designed for pedagogies that were considered innovative and relevant for industrial times, rather than the rapidly advancing technological age of the twenty first century and beyond. Retrofitting the twentieth century classrooms that form the majority of learning spaces in most Australian universities for twenty-first century learners will be quite a challenge for Australian universities in the coming years. Particularly when these learners are generally more IT savvy than previous generations of students, and often own and are familiar with more sophisticated technologies than those either available or permitted in their university. This paper discusses the context of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Priority grant focused on retrofitting, redeveloping and updating the university teaching spaces of the twentieth century. One of the outcomes of this project will be a set of design principles informed by the available literature focusing on space, technology and pedagogy issues will be developed and the authors will utilise these principles to guide and inform the redevelopment process of three learning spaces at three Australian universities throughout 2009/2010.

Keywords: learning space design, active learning, student engagement